One of Pope Francis’s closest advisors says the issue of Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics is not the main focus of the upcoming synod on the family. Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga said the synod’s focus will be mainly on “pastoral conversion” in how the Church forms and nourishes marriage and families. The cardinal Read more
The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, has called for a full investigation into mother and baby homes in Ireland. His call follows controversy over a mass grave containing the remains of nearly 800 children from a convent-run home in Tuam in County Galway. The children, aged one to nine, died between 1925 and 1961. The Read more
A 25-year-old Ursuline nun has taken out the Italian version of TV talent show The Voice with an large majority of popular votes. Wearing her black habit and a crucifix, Sr Cristina Scuccia eventually beat three other competitors with a convincing 62 per cent share of the popular vote. She closed the show by saying Read more
Pope Francis joined the presidents of Israel and Palestine in praying for peace in an “Invocation for Peace” at the Vatican on June 8. During his recent visit to the Holy Land, Pope Francis invited Israel’s Shimon Peres and Palestine’s Mahmoud Abbas to meet and pray together. On June 8, the two presidents met Pope Read more
Pope Francis has warned married couples not give in to a culture of wellbeing and substitute owning dogs and cats for having children. To make this a deliberate choice can make for a bitter and lonely old age, the Pontiff warned at a Mass at his residence at the Vatican on June 2. Several couples Read more
One of Pope Francis’s closest advisors has said the world’s economic system is founded on a new idolatry. Speaking in Washington on June 2, Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga also defended Pope Francis’s critiques of free market capitalism. Cardinal Maradiaga was speaking at an event titled “Erroneous Autonomy: The Catholic Case Against Libertarianism”. The cardinal, Read more
Pope Francis has told Catholics from the charismatic movement that he was not always comfortable with the way they prayed. But little by little, he came to see the good the movement is doing for members and for the Church, the Pope told 50,000 people at Rome’s Olympic Stadium on June 1. The gathering involved Read more
An American archbishop has warned against what he called the “balkanisation” of United States’ Catholics. Indianapolis Archbishop Joseph Tobin is worried the divisive nature of the nation’s politics may be seeping into the US Catholic Church. At a theological convention on May 30, he expressed concern about the separation of people into ideological camps. Archbishop Read more
Young people are helping to lead a rebirth of the Catholic Church in Ireland, the apostolic nuncio to that country believes. American-born Archbishop Charles Brown told the Catholic News Service that this rebirth is like spring after 20 years of winter. “You see a renewed enthusiasm among young Catholics in Ireland now,” Archbishop Brown said. Read more
An Australian investigation about police handling of abuse in the Church has found evidence to warrant prosecution of a senior church official. A special commission was set up after accusations that a police investigation into child sexual abuse allegations in Maitland-Newcastle diocese was a sham. Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox asserted there was a “Catholic Read more